During periods when a large number of patients are admitted to

Question

During periods when a large number of patients are admitted to a hospital, more qualified nurses are hired and more money is spent on nurse training than when the number of patients in a hospital is low. Thus, the average number of mistakes made by nurses should be lower during periods when there is a large number of patients in a hospital than when there is a small number of patients in a hospital and less money is available to hire qualified nurses and provide training to all nurses.

Which of the following, if true about a hospital during a period in which a large number of patients are admitted, casts the most serious doubt on the conclusion drawn above?

A. Its nurses demand higher wages than they do at other times.

B. Its nurses have less time to spend with each patient than they have at other times.

C. Its staff members are less likely to lose their jobs then they are at other times.

D. Its management provides opportunities for patients to provide feedback about their nurses.

E. Its training program for nurses is very rigorous.

sampriya · Answer

During periods when a large number of patients are admitted to a hospital, more qualified nurses are hired and more money is spent on nurse training than when the number of patients in a hospital is low. Thus, the average number of mistakes made by nurses should be lower during periods when there is a large number of patients in a hospital than when there is a small number of patients in a hospital and less money is available to hire qualified nurses and provide training to all nurses.

conclusion: reasoning/ underlying assumption:  number of mistakes should lower when patients are more because the nurses receive training
i.e, training= less mistakes and less money= less training

we need to attack the reasoning probably by providing a reason that undermines the training program!

A. Its nurses demand higher wages than they do at other times.
wages are irrelevant and has nothing to do with performing fewer mistakes

B. Its nurses have less time to spend with each patient than they have at other times.
this option weakens the argument since if less times is spent then the nurses are more prone to making mistakes!!

C. Its staff members are less likely to lose their jobs then they are at other times.
loosing jobs is completely irrelevant to the argument and our reasoning

D. Its management provides opportunities for patients to provide feedback about their nurses.
feedbacks are not responsible for fewer mistakes its out of scope

E. Its training program for nurses is very rigorous.
this is a strengthener !! it supports the training whereas we are supposed to attack it

Zain92 · Answer

C) if nurses are less likely to lose their jobs they could commit more mistakes borne out of security that they won't lose their jobs. 
B) we would want to know if nurses have less than sufficient time for each patient. Less time from when patients are few doesn't mean they less than sufficient time. 
I mean to say,can we ignore c completely ?

Posted from my mobile device

sampriya · Answer

you can also think this way- if they are likely to lose their jobs then they can work harder and make less mistakes to keep their jobs, the option swings both ways

and as it is when you are thinking this hard and going off topic with a CR prompt the answer is usually wrong,

the answer is mostly straightforward with targeting the reasoning thats present in the prompt

as per the prompt we are supposed to attack the training program...

"not other causes that could lead to other issues"

malvika2706 · Answer

This question is super confusing! Options B,C would mean more mistakes
Option D could mean more mistakes reported
All the 3 cases increase the likelihood of mistakes.

Why should we pick one option over the other, please provide a detailed review.
 GMATNinja   GMATNinja Two

ArtVandaley · Answer

Ignore this question and stay away from it as much as you can.

B is not a valid weakener. The stem doesn't mention that less time means more mistakes.

A could also be the right answer as the whole argument assumes that the wages remain same. If wages go up, the hospital won't have extra money for training.

Posted from my mobile device

TheYagami · Answer

I think both B and C weaken the argument to some extent, and both rely on assumptions.
For B, we assume that less time per patient increases chances of mistakes.
For C, we assume that greater job security may lead to complacency and carelessness.

nilesh_das50 · Answer

Exactly, I agree with your point.

guddo · Answer

During periods when a large number of patients are admitted to a hospital, more qualified nurses are hired and more money is spent on nurse training than when the number of patients in a hospital is low. Thus, the average number of mistakes made by nurses should be lower during periods when there is a large number of patients in a hospital than when there is a small number of patients in a hospital and less money is available to hire qualified nurses and provide training to all nurses.
 
 Which of the following, if true about a hospital during a period in which a large number of patients are admitted, casts the most serious doubt on the conclusion drawn above?

The argument says more qualified nurses and more training should reduce the average number of mistakes.  The weak point  is that high patient volume may create conditions that increase mistakes, even if the nurses are better trained or more qualified.

A. Its nurses demand higher wages than they do at other times.

This does not weaken the conclusion. Higher wage demands do not show that nurses will make more mistakes.

B. Its nurses have less time to spend with each patient than they have at other times.

This is correct. If nurses have less time with each patient, they may be more rushed and more likely to make mistakes. This directly weakens the claim that mistakes should be lower during high-patient periods.

C. Its staff members are less likely to lose their jobs then they are at other times.

This does not clearly affect the number of mistakes made by nurses.

D. Its management provides opportunities for patients to provide feedback about their nurses.

This does not weaken the conclusion. Feedback may help management evaluate care, but it does not show that nurses will make more mistakes.

E. Its training program for nurses is very rigorous.

This strengthens the argument rather than weakens it. Rigorous training would support the idea that nurses make fewer mistakes.

Answer: (B)

During periods when a large number of patients are admitted to

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During periods when a large number of patients are admitted to

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